George Hyde’s career as a Plains Indian historian was a natural outgrowth of his early fascination with Indians and the friendships he established as a teenager. By the time he was 16, Hyde, who lived in Omaha all his life, had become profoundly deaf and semi-blind. He was determined to focus on the subject he loved best. Focus he did, using powerful corrective lenses and a magnifying glass. A modest man who shunned publicity, Hyde collected data and first-hand accounts from informants, and wrote brisk, lively, but authoritative monographs and books. Unlike previous historians, instead of relying on “official” accounts, he went directly to the subjects of his research—an innovative approach. His epic trilogy—Red Cloud’s Folk (1937), A Sioux Chronicle (1956), and Spotted Tail’s Folk (1961)—is considered a masterpiece and classic in the field.

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